


Archery Club

by SereneSorrow



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Quincy Kurosaki Ichigo, Shinichi weekend 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23385976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneSorrow/pseuds/SereneSorrow
Summary: After losing his spirit energy, losing his zanpakuō and losing every friend he'd thought he had, Ichigo falls back on an old hobby to keep his head above water.
Relationships: Hirako Shinji/Kurosaki Ichigo
Comments: 16
Kudos: 488
Collections: ShinIchi Weekend 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ShinIchi Weekend 2020 - Day 4: Unexpected Skill
> 
> This is an AU that diverges from canon in that Ichigo only ever met Shiro/Hichigo/Ogichi as Zangetsu, he never met Old Man Zangetsu so Ossan wasn't a part of his zanpakutō and therefore he didn't lose that piece of his soul.
> 
> After I had the idea for this I read through the wikipedia article on Kyūdō, so all names of things and such are taken from there... if I'm wrong it's wikipedia's fault. :D  
> archery=kyūdō  
> arrow=ya  
> bow=yumi  
> target=mato  
> 'the line from where arrows are shot'=shai  
> and I still used 'archer' in reference to ichigo because the wiki article says 'experts in kyūdō are referred to as kyūdōka' and who says Ichigo is an 'expert'? Well, knowing him, he probably is... but who's the judge? Maybe they say different...

The draw of the string still has a calming effect. Breathing setting into an even rhythm in reflex after years of practice. Holding the ya beside his ear as he aims at the target twenty-eight meters away. Waiting for that moment, he always finds a single crystal clear moment that he just _knows_ is right, Ichigo releases the ya and lets the yumi spin in his hand. Watching the ya fly and hit the mato, the fourth in a row.

He's been holding a yumi far longer than a sword, the familiar grain of the wood and the comfortable grip, the stretch and flex of his muscles as he draws back for a good shot. All of it is a release from his worries, as good as meditation. Being a member of the Kyūdō Club at school is really the only thing that saves Ichigo from losing his mind after the war.

Nightmares of Hueco Mundo, flashbacks of the war, memories of training with Hirako, Hiyori and the rest of the Vizards and the distance he suddenly found yawning between himself and all of his friends was almost enough to make him give up on just about everything. As it had several years ago however, kyūdō saved him from the spirit-crushing pain. Losing Zangetsu, the hollowfied zanpakutō spirit that he'd trained so hard with ever since Urahara-san and Tessai-san had cut his chain of fate, is the second greatest loss he's suffered through in his life and he can't imagine how he would have gotten through it without the familiar motions of the yumi and ya in his hands.

As a sport he's never been very interested in the competitions, it was always more of a way for him to center himself and find a kind of peace that would leech away the pain he was feeling, and shin-zen-bi has always been something that has stuck with him. The goal of: 'when archers shoot truthfully, with virtuous spirit, beautiful shooting is realized naturally' was the most spiritual he'd been before becoming an actual spirit being himself. If he was ever in a mood for jokes these days Ichigo might have found it funny, pursuing a semi-spiritual path for so long and then actually getting to meet spirits. Of course he'd had to trade his yumi for a zanpakutō, all but abandoning the sport when he became a shinigami, running out right after school to hunt hollows and forgetting all about club activities after school. He didn't think Rukia or anyone else even knew that he was an archer. Although that could be more caused by his active attempt to hide his inclusion in the club.

He'd been drawn to kyūdō as a child, something that had just caught his attention one day, and it was the first thing to draw his interest beyond everything that he had to do to care for his sisters. He'd been used to taking care of the three of them by then. Pursuing things on his own without even thinking to tell Isshin since he'd discovered that his father's 'quirky' personality, that had always been funny when he was little and had ka-san to take care of him, translated to complete uselessness in taking care of children. The junior high had been one of the few he knew of to offer a kyūdō club before the high school level, and he'd joined in out of a small spark of curiosity and a strange calling as though he might belong.

Ichigo had actually thought of competing once, but at the junior high level he'd needed parental permission for the trip out of town and had to get Isshin to sign a form, which he'd refused. Ichigo hadn't wanted to push his luck, since kyūdō was the only thing beyond his sisters that he could bring himself to care about, not that Isshin had ever understood that.

_“Kyūdō? Long range weapons are for the weak! You need to learn how to fight up close son!” Isshin scoffed, promptly launching into one of his not-so-sneak-attacks._

_Ichigo dropped the permission slip in his hands and threw himself out of the way, since it was such an obvious frontal assault. A jab and a headlock from Isshin later and Ichigo managed to disentangle himself and scoop the form up off the floor as he left the room with a scowl, hoping that Isshin would forget he'd even asked before he put together the fact that he wanted to compete and the fact that he'd have to have learned kyūdō in the first place and figured out that Ichigo was actually in a school club. If 'long range weapons', as Isshin put it, were for the weak then Isshin would probably tell him to quit._

Maybe it was all those years of being blinded by his own massive reiatsu output, or maybe it was the sudden loss of that extra sense that wasn't quite reiatsu manipulation but that he thought was still some kind of ability to read others through their own low levels of reiatsu. He'd never realized just how much he himself had gravitated toward others with even a fraction of above average reiryoku, the fact that he was making their levels grow was only making him more comfortable with his friends but they'd had the potential to begin with. At first, his senses had seemed to be completely cut off, as though he couldn't even hear anyone or read in their expressions if they still cared about him. He'd thought that it was all just gone, not only his sense but their feelings. So maybe it was his sudden lack of power itself, or maybe it was his struggling to try to learn to read people again, but one day he was as blind as the last and the next something just snapped into place.

“Good job, Kurosaki.” Ishida mutters from the place beside him, still on his own third ya.

At first Ichigo doesn't even register the words, because it is at the very moment that Ishida released the ya that he felt something tickling his senses. It isn't like reiatsu, not really, but he knows that it was something. Glancing aside at his distant friend, Ichigo watches as he draws his fourth ya and that tickle is back, and the little twitch of Ishida's fingers against the ya draws his attention. A tiny swirl of blue dissipating from around Ishida's thumb and forefinger, that's the cause of the feeling, and Ichigo realizes that he can both see _and_ feel the reishi.

Ichigo has a moment of shock and panic, which predictably gains Ishida's attention and criticism before the distance between them returns, and then Ichigo starts thinking. Thinking thoughts that spiral through his mind and send him rushing just as hastily into things as he ever does. He's honestly not proud of what he does next. Which is stealing the Quincy Cross Ishida takes off of his wrist while they're changing into and out of their club uniforms and leaving as quickly as he can without being suspicious.

It's a long shot. An extremely stupid, completely impossible, long shot. There's just no way, and he had to be imagining things, he didn't see or feel Ishida absentmindedly gathering and dispelling reishi. He's just so bereft after losing his zanpakutō and everything that came with it that he's seeing things that aren't there, his mind is just playing tricks on him. There's just no way that he's a Quincy. Ishida is so going to kill him.

He finds the quietest, emptiest place he can, as far away from Urahara Shoten and the Vizard's warehouse as he can get. Then and only then does Ichigo slip the star-shaped cross over his own wrist and breathe in, deep breaths just to calm himself down. He's been freaking out all this time, palms sweating like crazy, and if he had a real yumi in his hands he wouldn't even be capable of holding it in a steady grip. It's not a real yumi though, it's some kind of reishi construct that he has to build himself, at least that's how he thinks he remembers Ishida explaining it.

He tries to visualize it, steps into form as though there's a perfect shai drawn in the dirt in front of him and placing his feet accordingly, left side facing the tree in front of him, and balancing himself. The next part is harder, as Ichigo raises his hands as though he's already holding the yumi, the wooden one that had been in his hands half an hour ago. He breathes as he visualizes it, and falls into that perfect rhythm again, and when he thinks he might be as close as he's going to get to the calm steadiness of his usual draw he pulls his right hand back. That little tingling feeling, he's _sure_ that he can feel it, he's sure that there's a spark of it in his hands and just at the tips of his fingers. Ichigo isn't sure why he thinks releasing the imaginary ya is actually going to do anything since he can't see a bright blue arrow like Ishida always calls up, but it does _something_ , he's sure there's a mark on the tree in front of him.

“What the hell do you think you're doing Kurosaki!” Ishida yells at him ten minutes later as he comes stomping into sight, having tracked him down and knowing that Ichigo was the one who stole his cross.

“Ishida, I may be crazy, but am I manipulating reishi right now?” Ichigo says, half-hysterically, without even turning around.

He's still got his imaginary yumi in his hands, and draws the same way he's been doing it for the last ten minutes. He half-expects Ishida to call him crazy without even looking, just for trying to claim he's a Quincy now too, just for grabbing onto anything he thinks might get him some attention or a chance to fight Hollows again. Ishida draws in a breath which he thinks was in preparation for exactly that, except he must actually look at Ichigo's hands before he gets started with his criticisms, because the breath whooshes out in a big gust and Ichigo turns his head to look at him with wide eyes.

“Am I imagining this? I can't actually be a Quincy, can I?” Ichigo asks, hands shaking all of a sudden as he tries to take off the cross, since he has to give it back after all.

He's looking down at his fumbling fingers, so he doesn't notice Ishida moving until his hands stop Ichigo from removing the cross. Startled, Ichigo looks up at his classmate (once friend) and takes in his own shocked expression. Ishida pulls Ichigo's hands apart again and turns him around, back into the proper stance, his own hands leading Ichigo's through the draw. Ichigo can feel the reishi better this way, he's pretty sure Ishida is doing something like helping him gather it or something like that, and he almost thinks he can see the outline of a bow in his hands.

“I don't know how you do these things Kurosaki, but if you're going to be a Quincy I'm not going to let you give us a bad reputation.” Ishida says snidely, but Ichigo can hear the camaraderie building up in his voice again.

***  
***

There is literally nothing on television. They've been flipping channels as long as they've been arguing over what to watch and literal hours have passed with no solution to the problem. There really isn't anything to do when you're living in exile and the war you spent a century training for is over and done. Shinji had started out with an argument for an old British action movie, which they can get with their frankly ridiculous (Urahara-built) universal satellite dish, but between Lisa's fetishes and Hiyori's picky disposition he finally decided to stay out of it. He'll put his two cents in, just as long as they can all agree on something.

Leaning against the side of the couch, and sitting on the floor where he's been ever since Hiyori kicked him in the face, Shinji just stares at the screen while he holds his head back to stop the bloody nose. On the couch, Rose is reclining 'elegantly' as he would probably describe it, while just inches away from him Kensei wrestles with Mashiro for the remote temporarily clutched between both of their hands.

“...Kurosaki Ichigo representing Kara-” A voice on the television catches his attention just as one channel flips to the next, buttons mashing on the remote during the struggle between the ex-captain and his ex-lieutenant.

“Hold up!” Shinji barks, head snapping up as he waves a hand. “Go back to that!”

The whole gang glance over at his tone, realizing that he isn't playing along with their games but is actually giving an order, and Kensei squints at the remote while Mashiro leans in making suggestions on which button might actually change the channel back. Finally they figure it out, and the commercial break ends just in time to announce the next round of a high school kyūdō tournament. Shinji blinks, not sure now that he really heard their missing Vizard's name after all, when the shot pans over the five participants lined up in front of their targets. One of whom has a very familiar shock of bright orange hair.

It's obviously Ichigo, as is confirmed by the close up of several of the participants, and all of the Vizards lean forward to get a better look. Every one of them is completely flabbergasted by the sight of Ichigo with a bow, so used to seeing him with a sword in his hand. He looks good though, natural, and Shinji can't help thinking of the awkward form Ichigo had adopted for his huge zanpakutō. He'd known that they didn't have time to really teach Ichigo proper form, even something hastily tailored to his constant shikai release, not with the need to teach him control over the hollowfied spirit's outbursts of temper and desire to use it's hollow reiryoku. Now he really regrets not even trying, Ichigo looks elegant and poised, but still every bit as strong and confident as Shinji has ever seen him in battle or training and to see that self-assured grace with a sword would have really been something.

They watch the rest of the competition, the whole group nearly silent for once as Karakura High beats Naruki High and every other school in the prefecture, which apparently earns the Karakura High School Kyūdō Club the right to represent their prefecture in the upcoming tournament. They see Ichigo standing next to Ishida among their teammates as they listen to the announcement, and Shinji can't help noticing the dark cast to both of their features even after their victory, an obvious difference in contrast to the excited and carefree teenagers surrounding them. Shinji honestly can't believe that he never considered before whether the decision made by the Gotei 13 and reinforced by Urahara and Isshin, to leave Ichigo out of everything from now on, included leaving him to deal with the aftermath of the war on his own. Both Ichigo and Ishida _look_ like they've been to war, and no matter how much they might enjoy this competition it's still hard to forget what you've survived that others haven't.

When the television flips off and the silence is finally broken, it's with exclamations of shock that Ichigo was holding out on them. Shinji just scoffs at the line of thought that Hiyori and Kensei share for once and goes to wash the dried blood off of his face. His nose stopped bleeding but he was so preoccupied with watching Ichigo that he forgot that he was getting blood all over himself. He can't really be blamed for that though, can he? Ichigo in that firing line was really a sight to see, a sight that Shinji wants a closer look at in person, because he finally has an excuse to check up on their martyred hero.

It takes him a few days, because the weekend gets in the way, but after school lets out on Monday Shinji steps through a wall and hastily dodges the tip of a bow that swings past his face as a spirit-blind student walks by. He's come without his gigai, since he'd been a student here for a handful of days two years ago, and you never know who will remember you. Besides, they are _supposed_ to stay away from Ichigo, so if anyone asks he can at least excuse himself by claiming it is just a quick check in and that he has no intention of _contacting_ Ichigo who can't actually see him.

Looking around, Shinji immediately finds the person he is looking for, and settles in against one wall as Ichigo and Ishida get their supplies together. He supposes that is one thing he has overlooked, Ishida _can_ see him, and is going to wonder what he is doing here. It doesn't take him long to notice either, but other than a narrow-eyed glare his presence seems to go unremarked. Shinji notices that Ichigo and his friend don't really talk to each other, despite sticking closer together than they do to anyone else in the room, and Shinji wonders who's temperament is rubbing off on who. Apparently trying to be subtle, Ishida leads Ichigo to the end of the firing line nearest to where Shinji is standing, not that he gets anything out of it since Shinji just shrugs off his questioning look.

“Oh, don't mind me.” Shinji says with a grin, waving a hand at Ishida's scowl.

He has to admit, once Ishida starts ignoring him and gets around to shooting, he is an impressive archer. Shinji hasn't had many opportunities to watch him before. Next to him though, Ichigo seems every bit the natural that Ishida is, and Ichigo is just slightly taller and has a bit more muscle which gives him a small advantage over Ishida when drawing. In fact, Ichigo has a lot of advantages in Shinji's eyes. The way he breathes so evenly in contrast to Ishida's carefully measured breaths, the relaxed concentration as he aims instead of Ishida's intense focus, the way every arrow seems to be released at exactly the right moment even though Shinji has no idea how he can tell. Even the light slanting into the room shows Ichigo to better advantage, lighting up his hair like a sunset and glinting on the faint sheen of sweat on his temples and what little exposed skin he shows of his neck and chest.

Shinji blinks, suddenly realizing where his thoughts are headed, and wonders what on Earth could have put that idea in his head. Seriously, admiring the seventeen year old's archery form is one thing, admiring his _form_ is another. As he is shaking his head though, trying to clear out that thought, something flickers in the corner of his eye and suddenly he has something else to think about.

_'Reishi?'_ The blue flickers around Ichigo's fingers, he is gathering reishi like a Quincy, like Ishida keeps slipping up and doing every time _he_ draws his bow.

Of course Shinji knows that Ichigo is part Quincy too, that was a very specific part of the _plan_ , but he thought that losing his shinigami powers meant that Ichigo had lost _all_ of his spiritual abilities. Besides, he's never seen Ichigo manipulate reishi even on purpose, let alone instinctively and he's never said a word about his Quincy heritage. Honestly, Shinji had assumed that Isshin had taught him not to use those powers or something, maybe that Urahara had told him not to mention it to any shinigami to avoid trouble.

“I was as surprised as you.” Ishida says from beside him, and how Shinji hadn't noticed him stepping over to lean against the wall on his right Shinji doesn't know.

“What?” Averting his gaze from Ichigo is hard, but he turns to the Quincy anyway.

“I had no idea he was a Quincy, and he says that he didn't know either.” Ishida is watching him carefully, trying to find out what Shinji knows about this.

Shinji is too surprised at hearing that Ichigo _hadn't known_ about this to cover the fact that he himself had. He is probably gaping at Ishida like an idiot while the archer makes a show of focusing on his bow, probably so no one will look over at him and see that he is talking to empty air.

“Apparently he just felt me gathering a bit of reishi one day a few months ago and figured it out. I had to follow him halfway across town after he stole my cross to test out his theory. Which in true Kurosaki fashion he did, he actually had a half-defined yumi before the end of the evening.” Ishida explains.

“So can he _see_ spirits then?” Shinji has to ask, he has to know.

“Not exactly, although I'm sure he will be able to in a few years, he says everything is getting clearer. It will probably be easier for him to see you once he can fully form the bow.” Ishida is checking the string on his bow now, still making a show of it as he speaks quietly.

“So technically, he has powers.” Shinji says, musing to himself _'he doesn't have to be left alone anymore'_.

“Who are you talking to.” Ichigo's voice cuts in, low but accusing.

Shinji hadn't even noticed his approach because of how little reiryoku he possesses now. Ishida glances between them, but doesn't wait for Shinji to suggest whether or not he should say.

“Hirako, although I don't know why he came.” Ishida admits easily, not bothering to argue with Ichigo.

The look on Ichigo's face isn't hard to read, though he schools his expression back to neutrality fairly quickly. Surprise, hope, worry and pain flash one after another before he's closed off again, and Shinji can't help reaching out and clapping a hand on his shoulder. It makes Ichigo jump because he hadn't seen Shinji reach out to him, and Shinji grips tighter, refusing to let go while Ichigo slowly gets used to the feeling.

***

“Seriously, why do you come watch every day?” Ichigo asks between shots.

Shinji is sitting in the shade, while Ichigo practices with the Quincy Cross that Ishida had given him. Ishida who has been so insistent on being with him to 'teach him properly' since day one but has suddenly had excuses to be elsewhere every time Shinji shows up. He'd literally announced a sudden need for a haircut and run off one day, and actually shown up with a new hairstyle the next day, sticking with it and refusing to admit that it had been a split second decision. Ichigo didn't believe it for a minute, but he can't really figure out why Ishida keeps leaving the two of them alone.

He isn't complaining though, because Shinji is the only non-living person that has come to see him since he'd lost Zangetsu, and because Ishida wasn't going back to ignoring him at any other time of day. It's just whenever Shinji is around, which is really weird.

“Eh, why'd we ever watch ya' train? It's impressive, you're really good at this.” Shinji has said as much before, so Ichigo doesn't think that answers his question.

He doesn't want to push it though because he is glad that Shinji is here, it's like a weight being lifted from his shoulders, almost literally as he even feels like his draw is easier. The heavy pull in his lungs when he breathes seems to disappear with Shinji's eyes on him. Ichigo releases the reishi yumi and approaches the Vizard, who stands slowly as he comes closer.

“So, if you're just here to watch my impressive skills, then does that mean you're not interested in getting a burger with me now?” Ichigo asks nervously.

He isn't really hungry, although it is about time for dinner and he has just done twice as much more practice than he had during club time. Yes his question is about food, but he just needs to find out if Shinji is _seriously_ back in his life, all aspects of it and not just the fighting other people's battles part.

The surprised look on Shinji's face isn't really what he is expecting, and he really isn't expecting the hand on his neck. He really, _really_ isn't expecting the kiss. Eyes flying wide at the soft press of their lips together, Ichigo is completely unprepared for the way his own body reacts. Suddenly his heart is racing like he's run a marathon and his whole body flushes with heat and adrenaline. His eyes snap closed and he sort of _sways_ into it, which is a little embarrassing because Shinji has to catch him. It breaks the kiss, which is probably a good thing, since Ichigo realizes that he's stopped breathing and has to suck in a huge breath. Still leaning against Shinji's chest, Ichigo tries to get his bearings but damn, he has no idea what to think.

“Yeah, a burger sounds good. I'll buy.” Is all Shinji says.

Ichigo looks up, sure that he is blushing bright red, and catches the grin on Shinji's face. He looks pleased with himself, and Ichigo thinks that maybe he'd known Ichigo hadn't actually meant the invitation as a _date_ , but that he's taken it that way on purpose. It might be the heat of the moment talking, but Ichigo suddenly realizes that he doesn't really mind, and the arm thrown over his shoulders feels pretty good so Ichigo decides to play along and figure out what just happened later. He laces the fingers of his left hand together with Shinji's, pulling the arm over his shoulders tighter until he is tucked into the taller man's side, which just makes Shinji chuckle and squeeze him tighter. Ichigo ducks his head when he realizes that he is smiling, trying not to blush any harder than he already is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the reason that Ichigo's perspective uses the Japanese words for 'bow' and everything else while Shinji's perspective doesn't is because my first thought was to show how Ichigo is experienced and would know exact terminology, whereas Shinji isn't an archer, but then I realized that well, Shinji would have to know the Japanese words or he wouldn't be say/thinking any of them in the first place... but I wrote this entire story just TODAY. Had the idea, wrote the whole darn thing in less than 8 hours, forgot lunch, made a meal for four people, edited and posted Color Reject, so I WAS TOO TIRED to change all of either one. Had fun though~  
> :D  
> And, just want to let everyone know that I have one more story to add to ShinIchi Weekend, but I will be posting it tomorrow and NOT in the collection because it's an incomplete multi-chapter story and the prompts list asked for complete things.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I was so tired last night that ShadowGazer's comment : [ Any hopes of a sequel? (Pleeeeeeeease) ] sounded like a REALLY good idea... so here it is. (I'm just not usually that easy to motivate... ?!?)
> 
> And, I tried but I couldn't find any info on Inter-High without actually watching some sports anime, and I didn't have that kind of time, I also don't know if that's even what it's called for archery. So instead, I decided on an unnamed 'winter tournament' for the start of this chapter, so basically Ichigo's team didn't win Inter-High, and wasn't on tv much after that scene in the last chapter. Now it's been half a year and we see who else saw Ichigo on tv for the winter tournament.
> 
> and remember the words:  
> archery=kyūdō  
> arrow=ya  
> bow=yumi
> 
> WARNING: Isshin turned into the bad guy. Boo bigotry and intolerance of the Quincy! Boo!

The winter tournament was a bust, Ichigo was _good_ but he wasn't used to the competitions, and it was a team effort. Even combined, Ichigo and Ishida couldn't carry the whole team and unfortunately their Karakura High classmates just weren't up to the challenge, not against every school in Japan. They had gotten fairly far along in the competition though, far enough that their matches had been televised several times, which lead to his current predicament.

“How long have you been doing this?” Isshin demands to know, arms waving as he flails around the kitchen where Ichigo sits at the table listening to him rant and rave.

“Junior High, I did ask you to sign a permission slip once.” Ichigo says tonelessly, and truthfully, because it really doesn't matter now that the cat is out of the bag.

“That- We had this conversation Ichigo! You're not a long range fighter! You've got no business using a yumi!” Isshin's hand slams against the table, and to be honest Ichigo is shocked because Isshin's usual expressions of violence are only ever in the form of his 'sneak attacks' for Ichigo's 'self-defense training'.

“Well I don't see how it matters now, it didn't stop me from learning the sword and fighting Aizen, and I don't have a zanpakutō now anyway so does it really matter if I use a yumi now too?” Ichigo tries to be logical, sometimes if he outlines something in an obviously well thought out matter then Isshin gets that he knows what he is doing and lays off with the restrictions.

“You don't need a yumi! You need to drop these activities, _right_ now!” Isshin insists, eyes hard and uncompromising, like he actually has the right to demand it.

“It's nearly the end of the school year, club activities are wrapping up already.” What Ichigo doesn't add is that he's already looked into it and his chosen university has a kyūdō club too, he'll have to ask Yuzu or Karin to keep Isshin away from the television during competitions.

“Good! Then you're done with this nonsense! You can go back to fighting with your fists, like a man!” Isshin actually lightens up at that.

Ichigo wants to let it go, this is exactly what he was hoping for, that Isshin would just lose interest in the conversation and leave him alone about it while he makes his own decisions regardless of what the man says. There's more to all of this than just a school club though, and Ichigo has been wondering about it off and on for months. He's a Quincy, and he didn't even know until recently. _Ishida_ didn't know, and he says that Quincy's are all about keeping track of bloodlines because of some 'half-blood equals half-power' thing, and even Shinji has been weird about it.

Sure Shinji really only showed up again _after_ Ichigo redeveloped some form of spiritual powers, and sure he seems to _really_ like watching Ichigo practice, but he's been significantly less than forthcoming about whether or not he already knew that Ichigo is a Quincy. Ichigo hasn't wanted to push the issue, for several reasons. One being that he doesn't really care what brought Shinji around again since it _isn't_ about fighting another war or something. Another being that he and Shinji are unofficially dating right now and Ichigo is really hoping that it's going somewhere, which he doesn't want to screw up with an argument about old secrets and plans. He's sure that they'll get around to _that_ conversation eventually, in fact he'll insist on it if their relationship starts looking serious, but Ichigo just really doesn't want to screw things up right now.

So, barring an unlikely to be successful attempt to break into the Shoten and demand some answers from Urahara who Ichigo can't imagine _doesn't_ know the answer, the only way to find out anything at all about his Quincy heritage is to ask his father. Who has to know something, but this fresh look at his disdain for kyūdō makes something heavy settle into Ichigo's stomach.

Shinigami hate Quincy, it's not just Ishida's stubborn pride that Ichigo remembers from their invasion of soul society back when Ichigo didn't have a clue what he was doing. He had noticed a few looks and some people tensing up just when Ishida walked by at the time, but he'd thought it was all of them, or something about Aizen's betrayal. Now he knows better, because Ishida's explained a bit more about _another_ war that took place about two-hundred years ago. He'd made a lot of hints about it before, but now that Ichigo's seen war for himself he can kind of understand why Ishida's so angry about the whole thing. No matter who was right and wrong, those were _people_ , and they're dead now. A lot of them didn't need to be, they could have had families, and Ishida could have been just one of a hundred Quincy kids with family and friends all around him that he had something in common with.

Ichigo isn't taking sides, that argument is too old to let it grab a hold of his life now, and he's got friends on both sides. Hey, he's got _family_ on both sides, even if he doesn't have a clue where his Quincy blood came from. So if he's ever going to get any answers about it, this is the time.

“Does you not wanting me to practice kyūdō have anything to do with me being a Quincy?” Ichigo asks bluntly, just as Isshin is about to leave the room.

The words freeze Isshin in place, and Ichigo sees his shoulders stiffen and his head tilt a fraction toward the poster on their wall. So that's it then? Ichigo was assuming, or maybe he was just hoping really hard, that the Quincy was farther up the family tree. _Ka-san_. Was she a Quincy? If so, then why didn't Isshin tell him, actually Ichigo wants to know why ka-san didn't tell him herself. He swallows hard as Isshin turns back to the kitchen slowly, suddenly his mouth is dry, his hands are sweaty and he isn't sure he should have asked after all. He sucks it up though, and takes a breath before flipping back his sleeve and letting the Quincy Cross he now wears more often than not drop into plain view. He doesn't gather any reishi, but this conversation is farther along than needing proof of his abilities, and Isshin is glaring at the cross like it insulted his mother. Ichigo isn't sure what to do with that yet.

“You shouldn't wear that. You could get in a lot of trouble-” Isshin starts with a warning tone, but Ichigo cuts him off, he already knows about all that.

“I was a shinigami/hollow hybrid, that was part of the plan, right? Was the Quincy blood a part of it too? Was ka-san a Quincy?” Ichigo has to know, all of a sudden he has to know right _now_.

Isshin grits his teeth and transfers his glare from the cross to Ichigo, and Ichigo has always felt disconnected from his father in a way that he'd realized eventually wasn't exactly the way family is supposed to be, but he's never felt like Isshin could really and truly hate him before. This look gives him that feeling, as though Isshin is one step away from seriously contemplating hurting him. Ichigo hadn't thought to ask before, if Isshin was a shinigami then he was older than the forty-something that he looks. Was Isshin a shinigami two-hundred years ago? Did he fight in that war? Had he killed Quincy just for existing, and lost friends and comrades to their arrows? If he had, and he knew that ka-san was a Quincy...

_'Did they really fall in love, or was that all just a story? If I was Urahara's plan, a_ pawn _all that time, did Isshin and ka-san only get together to create me?'_ Ichigo is suddenly asking himself, suddenly doubting his memories of a smiling face at the center of their family, and that really hurts because for so long she was everything he loved and regretted.

“It was unfortunate, how much your mother relied on that cursed power of hers, but I was very clear about her not passing on those views about destroying hollows to you kids. In every other way, she was the perfect woman, and I was proud to call her my wife.” Isshin says slowly, and Ichigo can actually hear the hatred in his tone, which is really all he needs to know.

***

Seeing her brother like this is hard, and Karin feels like kicking a soccer ball clean through goat-face's head. His brains can probably use a good rattling, making Ichi-nii look so lost and depressed again when he's actually started smiling in the last couple of months. She glances aside at Yuzu, who is hovering with a plate of cookies, while Ichigo just sits there at the kitchen table and stares down at the funny bracelet on his wrist. Goat-face is off in the clinic, or maybe he's left the house altogether, Karin doesn't really care. She doesn't think she even cares if he never comes back. Ichi-nii has been taking care of everything for years now, and money might be a little tight but she and Yuzu could find work somewhere and they could all look after each other. It may be a silly idea in the heat of the moment, but Karin is just too furious to let this go right now.

She's always been more in tune with Ichigo than people seem to think. Everyone, even Ichi-nii himself, thinks that Isshin pushes Ichigo to 'be a man' and all that garbage but dotes on her and Yuzu. It's true up to a point, goat-face has never come after her or Yuzu with those ridiculous 'sneak-attacks' but Yuzu looks a lot more like ka-san than Karin does, and Karin thinks that's the difference. It's really Yuzu that's the perfect little angel, 'daddy's little girl', and Yuzu tolerates it. Maybe even fell for it when they were little kids, but even she can see that there's just something wrong in Isshin's head sometimes. Karin's really glad that whatever it is doesn't seem to run in the family. At least, it hasn't hit the three of them too hard, she thinks they're a bit more sane than that. Karin on the other hand, she's always been a bit more 'masculine' with her interest in sports, and she thinks that's where the difference really comes into play. Dark hair, dark disposition, rough-and-tumble hobbies and a general disinterest in being coddled and fawned over like a princess. Goat-face doesn't seem to know what to do with her sometimes, if he looks between her and Yuzu, she knows which one he thinks he understands. Yuzu. Not Karin.

So she knows more than Ichi-nii probably thinks, since he's always been so sure that his ghost friends were a secret before the war that gives him nightmares now, the war that they all saw the aftermath of and got the bare minimum of answers about. He forgets that he used to come home from school with ghosts hovering over his shoulder, ghosts that she could see just fine even if she said she didn't believe what her eyes were telling her. They stopped following him, and he started disappearing, she wasn't going to _not_ notice that. She got better at reading him, since she was watching carefully, and she knows that this sudden onset depression is Isshin's fault and has 'ghost business' written all over it.

They weren't here when the conversation, if it was even that, went down. They were at school, and Karin was waiting for Yuzu in the home economics room because she was baking secret cookies for Ichigo to perk him up after the tournament loss they saw on television. Karin didn't really get why Yuzu couldn't bake the cookies at home, Ichi-nii knows that Yuzu bakes and likes to give him sweets when anything good or bad happens. Maybe it's a little revenge thing, since Ichigo was keeping his kyūdō a secret, hence the 'secret cookies'.

She remembers now how they were just flipping channels on the television on a boring Saturday when there was a phone call, and goat-face had greeted Urahara, that ghost shopkeeper guy that's weirdly nice to her all the time. She doesn't know what they said but it was a short call and then goat-face had told them what channel to switch to and they had spent the next hour watching live coverage of the high school kyūdō tournament, which Ichigo was participating in even though he'd told them he was just staying at a friend's house that weekend. Karin and Yuzu were just amazed at how good he was, sure Karin had heard about his 'hire me for your sport teams' scheme to make a bit of extra cash, but she'd thought it was just soccer and stuff. Kyūdō was really serious, you had to know all the details and spend years training properly, you couldn't just step in and do it for a day. She and Yuzu had settled in to watch, and cheered for their brother because he was nailing the target _every_ time. Honestly, she'd kind of tuned out the fact that goat-face was even in the room, but he'd gotten quiet and hadn't cheered along. She should have noticed that, because if he'd been impressed he would have been loud and obnoxious and started cheering right alongside them.

Karin also remembers that the kid standing next to Ichigo in the line is his friend Ishida, who she'd learned was some kind of spirit archer called a Quincy, and she thinks he was wearing a bracelet like the one Ichigo is staring at the one time she ran into him at Urahara Shoten. So maybe Ichigo has been learning ghost kyūdō and goat-face disapproves, she doesn't know _why_ he would, but these are the puzzle pieces she has and they do make _a_ picture. She just has to find out if it's the right picture or if she's still missing a few pieces.

“So what'd goat-face do now?” She asks bluntly, because Ichigo isn't the greatest at subtle and there's no point in beating around the bush when he's already so down.

“Nothing, it doesn't matter.” Ichigo mumbles without looking up, fingers digging into his wrist around the bracelet.

Yuzu puts down the cookies. This is serious.

“Your bracelet is pretty.” Yuzu offers, because she's tricky like that and Ichigo will either snap out of the funk with enough energy to be all 'manly offended' at the idea of wearing a 'pretty bracelet' or he'll stay glum but explain _why_ the bracelet is important and what it has to do with anything.

He looks up, a bit of that offense in his expression, before he deflates again and drops both hands to hang between his knees, gaze staring at the floor between his feet now. So this is worse than just about anything then, and Karin was kind of wondering when Ichigo would hit the trifecta. Losing ka-san, losing his ghost powers, now whatever this is. Jeez, he really needs a break.

“Well, if you won't tell us” Karin starts, and then sighs because this isn't really a good way to get him talking but she just doesn't want it to drag out and haunt him like losing his ghost powers did. “We'll ask him later.” She finishes, not that goat-face would actually tell them anything, but Ichigo won't think it through that far before-

“No! Don't bring it up, I don't want him talking to you that way!” Ichigo snaps, his head up again and eyes alive with emotion.

Karin isn't sure why that emotion is disgust, she was expecting regular anger, but Ichigo looks really sick. She doesn't know what to say to that look, luckily Yuzu isn't quite as good at reading him and probably figures it _is_ anger, which gets her talking.

“Then you'll tell us what happened, won't you Ichi-nii? So we don't have to ask?” Yuzu's way too sweet sometimes, it takes all of two seconds for Ichigo to start explaining.

“He just wants me to quit kyūdō, because... well... I don't know how much you two know about shinigami?” He asks at the end, looking between them because he's been so out of it the past two years that he really doesn't know if anyone explained to them what was going on with their big brother.

“That you were one, and most of your weird friends we never met were shinigami too.” Karin says with feigned annoyance, since Ichigo was probably expecting it.

“That Urahara-san has a lot to do with everything and can help us if we're in danger?” Yuzu puts in, because there really isn't much more than that to their own knowledge of the subject.

“Uh, yeah.” Ichigo sighs, head dropping and raising again as he thinks over all the stuff he knows he should tell them but that Karin knows he _so_ won't, just because he thinks it will be safer or something.

“You know Ishida?” Ichigo asks next.

“Your friend who's also in the kyūdō club!” Yuzu agrees.

“Well, he's a Quincy, and Quincy are people who can see ghosts and have this ability to create... reishi ya that they use to fight hollows.” He looks between them as if to see if they are following, which they are except for the 'reishi' thing, they know hollows at least so Quincy equals ghost powers is easy to understand.

“The problem is that shinigami almost universally seem to hate Quincy, because of the way Quincy powers destroy souls instead of purifying them and sending them to soul society the way shinigami swords do. They had a big war over it two-hundred years ago, and now there are hardly any Quincy left, Ishida's family is like the last real Quincy family there is.” Ichigo explains, _actually_ explains.

Karin and Yuzu exchange looks and nod their heads in unison, eager to hear more details because Ichigo is actually letting them into his life a little bit. The way they both lean forward may be weirding him out a bit, but Karin isn't sorry because he keeps talking.

“Shinigami live for a long time, so there's still a lot of bigotry, even the shinigami that want to be more accepting can't seem to help being intolerant. At first I thought Ishida was acting the same way, but I think most of his 'I hate shinigami' talk is just because he's afraid of them deciding to kill him just for being born a Quincy. I mean, he did help during... everything...” Ichigo shakes his head like he's gotten off topic.

“It's just, the way Isshin was talking about kyūdō and Quincy just now, I don't know if he was around two-hundred years ago but he sounded like he hates Quincy as much as anyone...” Ichigo gets really quiet when he keep talking, not looking at them again. “He said that it was a 'cursed' power... and ka-san was a Quincy too.”

He mumbles that last bit and it takes a second to register, but then Karin gets it and is back to being furious with the stupid goat. Ka-san was a Quincy, and all these years goat-face always goes wailing to that memorial poster of her, every year he takes them to ka-san's grave on the anniversary. He's a ridiculous moron at the best of times and she has no idea how he wound up a _doctor_ , but she at least thought that her parents were in love. How could they be though, if he hates anyone who is a Quincy?

“He didn't really explain anything after that, so I don't know details.” Ichigo says at a normal volume, just to fill the silence between them. “I don't have shinigami powers anymore but a few months ago I was practicing during club hours and realized that I could feel the reishi, I've been training with Ishida ever since, that's what the bracelet is for.” He holds up his wrist and jangles the little chain a bit to make the star-shaped charm bounce.

“It's not much, but I might be able to see ghosts again in a few years, if I keep training. I wasn't planning on killing hollows, but I just thought...” Running a hand through his hair, Ichigo sighs again. “I just figured it was better than nothing, I'd at least be able to see everyone again, just in case they bothered to stop by. I'd be able to see hollows at least, I can't just pretend they aren't there and I could at least drive them off if they attacked me.”

“I already knew Isshin didn't want me in kyūdō, but I didn't know about ka-san... I thought it was probably some great-grandparent, apparently the Quincy powers get really diluted and weak the more half, quarter, sixteenth-blood you get to. I figured it was just with everything else that I could do, everyone always says that I have a habit of making the impossible happen, I thought that because I had other powers before it might have just jump-started them or something.” Ichigo explains some more.

Goat-face is toast. She is officially done playing along with his nonsense. Karin wants real answers and to be treated like an intelligent human being. She is going to figure out what is really going on if she has to start beating answers out of people. Her brother is really laying it all out for once though, and Karin wonders who it is that has taught him how to express himself, because this is definitely new. She's glad though, and she really wants to meet whoever it is because they've done the Kurosaki family a huge favor.

***  
***

Shinji walks into the clearing that Ichigo has claimed for his Quincy training to a new and surprising sight. Ishida is back, and Shinji still hasn't found a good way to thank the matchmaking sneak for leaving them alone so often, but the two of them aren't alone. Ichigo's sisters are here too, and they are holding Quincy Cross's between their hands and looking up at Ishida with mock pleading expressions, clearly trying to guilt him into something. Putting two and two together, are they actually here to learn how to manipulate reishi?

Instead of stopping at his usual tree to sit back and watch, Shinji strolls over to where Ichigo is already practicing, pleased when Ichigo immediately releases his bow and turns to him. Ichigo doesn't look altogether pleased by the sight of his sisters cornering Ishida, but he isn't actually scowling so Shinji decides he probably had agreed to whatever their plan here is.

“Something going on?” He asks, not wanting to get too close.

They've been taking things glacially slow, spending time together, sharing a few meals and a handful of kisses over the past few months is as far as either of them are comfortable with right now and Shinji doesn't know if Ichigo has told anyone that they are unofficially a couple. Therefore, he is reluctant to do anything that might make Ichigo uncomfortable in front of his sisters.

“I talked to my dad.” Ichigo looks away at that, and Shinji feels a pang in his heart because he knows that Ichigo meant they talked about his Quincy heritage.

“I know you have been avoiding the subject, and I figured even if you did know more of the details besides just the fact that I am a Quincy, well I didn't want to get in an argument or anything.” Ichigo says with false nonchalance.

Shinji doesn't think there would have been an argument, but it would have been pretty awkward to talk about how much Shinji knew about the plans for Ichigo's birth. Besides, he doesn't know a lot of details about Masaki herself, they'd never been close.

“He's very... um, anti-Quincy. Wants me to stop training, and quit kyūdō altogether. I told him the club was done with it being the end of the year and all, so he might not notice that I'm still planning to join the university club.” Ichigo explains with a half-joking tone in the end, but Shinji can tell that he is upset by Isshin's words.

It would be weird if he _wasn't_ upset actually. In general, Shinji finds 'Ichigo' and 'Quincy' to be two separate things, because Ichigo is just the exception to every rule there is. Still, he has been working on his own aversion to Quincy, and he likes to think that after a century watching the living world change around him that he has gotten over the racial intolerance and is just stuck with his memories of the war. He'd been newly graduated from the academy during the war, better equipped to deal with battles than Ichigo was at roughly the same mental age but still too young for _war_. It leaves scars no matter who you are and while his own hollowfied zanpakutō has largely featured in his nightmares for the last century there are still some nights that he remembers a rain of blue arrows lighting up the night sky. That deadly luminescence plummeting into the field around him and dozens of his comrades falling all at once.

Shinji isn't a prodigy, he didn't learn his zanpakutō's name and shikai release while he attended the academy. He was a generic unseated officer rushed through graduation and thrown out in front of the captains to keep the tide of Quincy soldiers from taking more ground on the battlefield. It's the reason he worked as hard as he did to become stronger, he literally wouldn't have reached captain level for decades and more time than it took him if he hadn't seen death coming for him on those fields and decided that he wanted to _live_.

So yes, for a long time Shinji hated the Quincy, it was one of the major motivating factors in his life. If there's one thing Shinji has learned though, it's that there's a time to let things go and move on. Some things you have to move past if you're going to get stronger, not dwell on them. Has it been a major sore spot that Shunsui, who he thought of as a good drinking buddy once, didn't do more (or appear to do anything at all) when not only Shinji but also his own lieutenant were ordered to be executed? You're darn right it has. Being angry at Kyoraku wasn't going to help him regain control of Sakanade though, in fact it was one of the many whispers that she taunted him with when they fought for dominance and he _had_ to let it go.

“Isshin's an idiot. Do whatever you want to.” Shinji finally says, placing a hand on Ichigo's shoulder as has become his usual means of reassuring him. “Hey, ya' want me to beat him up for you? I could use a warmup the next time Hiyori wants a serious fight.”

The joke does the job of lightening the mood, although Shinji knows that Ichigo's going to need to talk more about this soon, but he knows that Ichigo doesn't like when his own moping cuts into his training time so they'll pick it up again this evening. Assuming that they can have dinner alone, which he probably can't with Ichigo's sisters present. Speaking of...

“So you're the one that taught Ichi-nii to communicate properly! I owe you a cake!” Yuzu exclaims excitedly, hustling over to them while they startle apart and turn to the twins.

“'Bout time you met someone that could teach you what words are for.” Karin agrees more sedately, though she looks Shinji over with more obvious judgement and calculation.

Shinji almost shivers, because he doesn't remember a lot of Shiba's being that crafty, and because the boyfriend's family can have a lot of say in the relationship... he really wishes he knew if Ichigo has told them anything.

“Cake. Yeah, sounds good. You don't have to though-” He wouldn't mind trying some cake, Ichigo shared a few cookies with him a month ago and Yuzu has real talent in that area.

“Of course I do! We've been trying to get Ichi-nii to share feelings for years! I thought he wouldn't figure it out until he started dating.” Yuzu cuts off his polite refusal and proceeds to send him, and from the looks of it Ichigo as well, into a bit of a panic.

“I think you called that one right Yuzu.” Karin says as she squints up at him, and Ichigo makes a strangled little sound while Ishida scoffs from behind them.

“I'd say so, but they're taking things slow, so stick with thank-you cakes for now and leave the celebratory feasts for when they actually decide to make it official.” Ishida announces, and Shinji takes back his intent to thank the twerp for the help in getting Ichigo alone.

“Ishida!” Ichigo snaps, face flaming and hands waving furiously as he tries to deny it out of sheer awkward embarrassment more than any actual desire to hide it.

Shinji decides on leaning into the skid though, and throws an arm over his shoulders, planting a brief kiss on his temple as he pastes on his widest smile and grins down at the twins. He doesn't mind the elbow Ichigo throws into his ribs, just tucks him in tighter under his arm so he can't do it again.

“So, official it is, feast first and cake after.” Shinji decides, the girls sharing his excited grin and Ichigo smiling through his embarrassment while even Ishida smirks in triumph.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I didn't intend to go into Isshin as the bad guy, that little flashback in chapter one was as much as I was going to say... but I didn't intend to write a second chapter either... so stuff just happened. ~  
> I feel like I didn't say that clearly... I actually thought it would work out, like Ichigo would get him to come around on the archery/Quincy thing, but it just wanted to be written this way... I think it's a good thing though, because I haven't really explored Karin's character before, so I'm glad I got that chance.


End file.
